Paper dispensing device



May 20, 1952 J. F. slPloR PAPER nIsPENsING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. l2, 1949 INVENTOR Josep/7 f.' 54h/br BY @,z Mv @um ATTORNEYS May 20, 1952 J. F. slPloR 2,597,602

PAPER DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Feb. 12, 1949 '5 Sheets-Sheet 5 y. Il,

ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 20, 1952 Joseph F. Sipior, North Tonawanda, N. Y. Application February 12, 1949, Serial No. 76,054

2 Claims. (Cl. 164-1845) AMyinvention relates in general to paper dispensing devices,Y and in particular to a device for dispensing and severing paper put up in the form' of rolls.

' The principal object of my invention is to provide a paper dispenser having a tear-off member through which the paper is fed andby which it may conveniently and eihciently cut off.

Another object is to provide a tear-off mechanisrn for paper dispensing devices having guard flanges to protect the edge of the tearing blade,

whereby the user cannot injure himself by con# tactwith such edge.

'Another object is to provide a reserve portion of'pap'er` which remains in the tear-01T member of the device after the desired quantity of paper is'pulled 01T of the roll.

y A"fur`ther object isto provide access means formed in one of the blade guards for enabling theuser to engage 'the reserve portion of paper contained'in the tear-off member when withdrawing another piece of paper from the device.

Moreoven the tear-off member of my device protects the reserve portion of paper and keeps it smooth and straight previous t`o its being withdrawn from" themember.

Another object is to provide adispensing device having a casing formed with anY inclined bottom for supporting the roll of paper, whereby the roll may vbefrictio'nally held in place, andA thereby obviate any tendency for thesevered edge to be withdrawn within the casing.

Moreover, the tearing edge of the blade of my device is relieved by having Vthe blade beveled backwardly so as to facilitate the tearing action thereof.

Myiinvention is applicable to various uses whereundetermined amounts ofpaper are to be supplied from a roll. In the drawings, many applications of my invention are shown; and the above objects and advantages have been accomplished by the devices shown in such drawings, -of which: Y

-;Fig. 1 is asideclevation of one form of the invention with portionsv thereof broken away;

Fig 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line'II-II of Fig. 1; f v

Fig.13 is a bottom plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an end view thereof; Y

- Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View of a portion of the tear-off member, and is taken on line VV ofFig. 3; 1; f g

iig. "6 is asimilar sectional View taken 'Online VILVIfofl Figf; 4 i Fig?- '7 'is a'iifenlargedv Vsectcn'al" view-'of a modi fled form of container suitable for suspension from a horizontal surface and is taken on line VII-VII of Fig. 8;

Fig. 8 is a back elevational view of the form of invention of Fig. 7;

Fig. '9 is an enlarged sectional view of another form of invention suitable for counter or table use and is taken on line IX-#lX of Fig. 10;

Fig.' 101 is a sectional bottom plan View of this form of device'shown in Fig. 9 and istaken on lin'e X-X;`

Fig. 11 is a transverse sectional View of another modified form of invention which is adapted forv use inu connection with a roll of paper supported on a store counter or the like; and,

Fig."12 is a fragmentary sectional view showing my invention as applied to a roll of paper supported beneath a table or counter.

In the first form of my invention shown in Figs. l to 6 inclusive, to whichattention is now directed,1the device comprising a casing I3 havingy a top wall 20, a back Wall 2l and a front Wall'22.

A bottom'23 is preferably secured to and formed integrallyV with the back wall A2| and is-sl'oped forwardly toward the front Wall 22, thus providing an inclined supporting surface for the rolll of paper 24 which causes it to rest against the front Wall 22 at all times. This frictionalcontact places some restraint upon the dispensing of the paper and also prevents the roll from moving after the paper has been torn off, thus obviating the tendency of the forward edge of the paper to be withdrawn within the case by reason of such movement of the' r'oll:v The bottom 23 is preferably extended forwardly" beyond the front wall in`a paper-supporting ange y25, and a guard flange 26 preferably coextensive withl the flange 25 is'secured to or made a part of the wall 22. These .a'nges are in parallel spaced relation to eachother thereby forming the mouth 3D of the casing through which the outer end 3| of the paperpasses. Arranged below the guard fiange 26 is the blade 32 of the tear-off member of my device which is preferably fastened to the underside of this guard by any suitable means. The space between the flanges 25 and 26 is such as to accommodate the thickness ofthe bladelandto provide a slot 33 through which the paper may freely pass. The paper-supporting 'flange 25 and the guard flange 2 6, together with the tear-01T knife blade 32; form the tear-off member of my device. z f

As shown enlarged ,in Figs. 51and .6, the forward edges'fofx; the-papersupportingzflange ,ende .the

guardiange lie'rpreferably in the-samerplana but the tearing edge 34 of the knife blade is inset somewhat behind this plane so that there is a clearance space between the forward edge of the blade and the forward edges of flanges, whereby the hand of the user will be protected should it accidentally be drawn across the front of the tear-off member. To facilitate the tearing action of the blade, the tearing edge there'- of is provided with a series of serrations as clearly shown in the drawings, whereby the dispensed portion of the paper may be quickly cut from the roll in clean manner.

The tear-off member extends forwardly beyond the front wall of the casing 22 a considerable distance so as to provide space for the reception of a reserve portion of paper 35 between the flanges. The paper-supporting flange 25 is formed across its middle portion with an access opening 36 which extends backwardly from the edge of the flange and which exposes a part of the reserve portion of the paper for ready contact with the fingers of the user to enable him to pull the desired amount of paper from the roll.

In the device of the form just described, the casing may be kept within a utility drawer, may be placed upon a table or counter, or if desired, may be suspended from a wall, keyhole slots 40 being formed in the rear wall for the reception of the screws 4|. In this form of the device one end of the casing is left open for the reception of the roll of paper, the free edge thereof being passed between the blade and the paper-supporting flange. The opposite end of the casing is formed with a head 42 which is preferably secured to the casing walls and may be provided with a slot 43 whereby the paper at the adjacent end of the roll may be observed.

The form of invention shown in Figs. 7 and 8 comprises a casing having a top wall 44, a back wall 45, and a front wall 46. This casing is designed to be supported by a horizontal surface and the rear wall therefore is provided with an opening 50 extending the full length of the casing and through which the roll of paper may be inserted. In this form of invention, the back wall 45 and front wall 46 have inclined portions 52 which terminate in the tear-off member 53. This tear-off member comprises a paper-supporting flange 54, a guard flange 55 and a knife blade 56. The paper-supporting flange is formed with an access opening 60 in its central edge portion. In this form of invention the inclined portions 52 serve to support the roll 5| in wedging manner so as to provide roll friction, as hereinbefore pointed out in connection with the form of invention of Fig. 1-6.

The form of invention of Figs. 9 and 10 is for store counter use, and where paper is to be dispensed from a larger roll. In this form a box 6| is provided having a bottom 62, a front wall 63 and a back wall 64. The top of the box is closed by means of a cover 65 to the underside of which is attached the brackets 66 which support the roll of paper 10. The front wall 63 is provided with a tear-off member 1| which comprises a guard flange 12 and a paper-supporting flange 13, in the latter being formed the access opening 14 for exposing the reserve portion 15 of the paper.

The invention shown in Fig. 11 is applicable to the larger rolls of wrapping paper customarily placed on top of `a counter. As here shown, 80 represents one of the standards whichv support the roll of paper 8| upon the customary'spindle 82. A tear-off member 83 is supported by the arms 84 of the roll holder and comprises a guard member 85 and a paper-supporting flange 86.

The blade of this form is secured to the under surface of the guard member 85, and the dispensing end 9| of the paper passes through the tear-off member and is disposed within the space provided between the blade and the lower guard member 86. An access opening 92 is formed in the paper-supporting flange.

The form of invention shown in Fig. 12 is applicable in cases where it is desired to support the roll of paper under a table top or store counter andV to dispense the paper at the forward edge thereof. In the drawings, 93 represents the table or counter top and 94 the apron extending downwardly therefrom. The roll of paper 95 is suspended from bearing brackets 96 secured to the under side of the top. In this form, the tearoff member |00 is carried by the apron 94 and the guard flange I0| is secured to thefunder side of the apron and is formed at its rear edgerear edge with an upturned portion |02 which forms a bracket, the upper edge of which being secured at the inside face of the apron. The paper-supporting flange |03 is suitably held in spaced relation with provided with a downwardly curved inner edge |04 for guiding the paper into the `slot formed between the flanges. The knife blade |05 is of course carried by the guard flange, and the paper-supporting fiange is provided with an access opening |06.

From the foregoing it will be clear that in order to dispense paper from my device. it is only necessary for the user to place his fingers in contact with the reserve portion of the paper exposed through the access opening in thevpapersupporting fiange. The paper will thus be pressed lightly against the bottom surface of the knife blade and there will be sufficient friction between the fingers of the user and the surface of the paper to permit the operator to withdraw the paper so that it can be held between the thumb and fingers. The desired amount of paper is, then withdrawn from the roll. After the desired amount of paper is pulled beyond the edge of the knife blade, the paper is given an upward movement bringing it to bear against the sharpened edge of the blade whereby it will be quickly severed from the paper stock. Since the access opening extends inwardly beyond the tearing edge of the blade, there will always be a reserve amount of paper ready to be contacted by the user. Since the blade, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is of considerable thickness, and since the forward tearing edge thereof is inclined backwardly from the lower surface thereof, the clearance thereby provided between the tearing edge and the under surface of the paper-supporting flange will provide adequate space for paper as it is pulled across the edge of the knife blade, thereby producing a clean tear. Furthermore, as hereinbefore pointed out, the tearing edge of the blade is set in beyond the forward exposed edges of the guard flanges so that if the users hand should accidentally touch or be drawn across the tear-off member, the flanges will prevent injury. Not only do the guards protect the hand of the user, but they also protect the sharp tearing edge of the blade against being nicked or dulled by contact with any foreign object. Furthermore, since-there is always a reserve portion of paper exposed through the access opening, the device may be manipulated by means of one hand only,

the guard flange and it is` it being unnecessary to give the paper roll an initial turn. Because the reserve portion of the paper product is supported and protected by the tear-oil member, this portion will be kept from becoming wrinkled or soiled before being used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A tear-off device for use in cutting paper from a roll, comprising a substantially horizontal paper supporting flange, a guard flange in fixed spaced parallel relation with the supporting flange and arranged above the latter, the supporting and guard flanges having their outer L edges lying in substantially the same plane, a tear-olf blade substantially co-extensive with the guard flange and having its upper surface in contact with and secured to the guard flange, the forwardly extending surface of the blade being serrated and bevelled backwardly from its lower edge thereby producing a sharp cutting edge and clearance between it and the lower surface of the guard flange, the guard flange having an unbroken forward edge which extends forwardly over the cutting edge of the blade in protective relation therewith, the blade being in spaced relation with the paper supporting flange to provide an unobstructed slot of fixed dimension for the passage of the paper, the paper supporting flange being formed with an access opening substan tially midway its length and extending to the edge of the flange, the access opening being sufllciently large to permit frictional engagement of the fingers of the operator with the under side of the paper, whereby the operator may withdraw the desired amount of paper from the roll and tear it from the roll in one operation.

2. A tear-off device for use in cutting paper from a roll, comprising a substantially horizontal paper supporting flange, a guard flange in fixed spaced parallel relation with the supporting flange and arranged above the latter, the supporting and guard flanges having their outer edges lying in substantially the same plane, a tear-off blade substantially co-extensive with the guard flange and having its upper surface in contact with and secured to the guard flange, the forwardly extending surface of the blade being serrated and bevelled backwardly from its lower edge thereby providing a sharp cutting edge and clearance between it and the lower surface of the guard flange, the cutting edge of the blade being inset somewhat behind the plane of the forward edge of the guard flange in protective relation therewith, the blade being in spaced relation with the paper supporting flange to provide an unobstructed slot of flxed dimension for the passage of the paper, the paper supporting flange being formed with an access opening substantially midway its length and extending to the edge of the flange, the access opening being sufficiently large to permit frictional engagement of the fingers of the operator with the under side of the paper, whereby the operator may withdraw the desired amount of paper from the roll and tear it from the roll in one operation.

JOSEPH F. 'SIPIOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 440,928 Schenck Nov. 18, 1890 1,268,222 Dwyer June 4, 1918 1,364,743 Fuerth Jan. 4, 1921 2,138,154 Grunwald Nov. 29, 1938 2,352,445 Pinckney June 27, 1944 2,474,076 Thompson June 2l, 1949 

